Tegel Group leads decliners while locked in chicken price war

New Zealand shares fell on Thursday, led by Tegel Group, after government figures showed chicken prices may be suffering from rivalry among suppliers. Restaurant Brands and SkyCity Entertainment Group were among leading decliners as ongoing geopolitical tensions and the looming US earnings season sapped investors’ risk appetite.

The S& P/ NZX 50 index fell 21.74 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7229.80. Within the index, 31 stocks fell, 15 rose and four were unchanged. Turnover was $ 131 million.

Tegel dropped 2.5 per cent to $ 1.16 after government food price data for March showed chicken prices fell 6.5 per cent for the year, extending annual declines since June 2015. “There’s lots of competitive tension between Tegel and Inghams,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. Craigs expects Tegel to post full- year profit at the lower end of its $ 33m to $ 41m guidance.

Also weighing on the New Zealand bourse, stocks fell on Wall St, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively overnight ahead of the latest US results season at the end of the week.

““People are waiting to see how the US reporting season pans out, how Trump pans out. People with cash are happy to sit on their hands,” McIntyre said.

Property for Industry declined 2.1 per cent to $ 1.63 and Port of Tauranga fell 1.9 per cent to $ 4.05. SkyCity dropped 1.6 per cent to $ 4.45 and Restaurant Brands fell 1.5 per cent to $ 5.39.

Sky Network Television fell 0.8 per cent after the Commerce Commission on Thursday published its reasons for declining a proposed merger with Vodafone New Zealand in February. Sky i s considering whether to appeal the decision. Spark New Zealand, which opposed the merger, fell 0.6 per cent to $ 3.575, while network operator Chorus dropped 1.4 per cent to $ 4.22.

NZX rose 1 per cent to $ 1.06 after Oceania Healthcare’s initial public offering price was at near the bottom of the range in a bookbuild at 79c. Metlifecare declined 0.4 per cent to $ 5.76, Ryman Healthcare slipped 0.5 per cent to $ 5.65 and Summerset Group fell 0.6 per cent to $ 5.33. Arvida Group bucked the trend, rising 0.8 per cent to $ 1.28

Trustpower rose 1.1 per cent to $ 4.68, controlling shareholder Infratil gained 0.9 per cent to $ 2.945, while recently demerged wind energy company Tilt Renewables was unchanged at $ 2.15.

Seeka fell 5.6 per cent amid reports the kiwifruit harvest was delayed after recent storms.